REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of apiculture programmes
Date: 2019-12-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU aid, EU financing, EU programme, aid to agriculture, apiculture, common agricultural policy, honey

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.12.2019  COM(2019) 635 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of apiculture programmes   
 
 
Contents 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1 

3.2 

4. 

4.1 

4.2 

4.3 

4.4 

4.5 

5. 

6. 

7. 

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 2 

METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 3 

OVERVIEW OF THE EU APICULTURE SECTOR ................................................................... 3 

Production and prices ................................................................................................................... 3 

Trade ................................................................................................................................................... 5 

IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL APICULTURE PROGRAMMES .............................. 6 

Legal basis ......................................................................................................................................... 6 

Objectives and Measures ............................................................................................................. 7 

Union Budget for national apiculture programmes and usage rate ........................... 8 

Allocation of the Union contribution per Member State ................................................. 9 

Expenditure incurred per type of measures ..................................................................... 10 

METHODS TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF BEEHIVES ........................................... 11 

APICULTURE IN THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY BEYOND 2020 ............ 13 

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 13 

1 

 
 
  
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

As  small  as  it  can  appear  when  compared  to  other  agricultural  sectors,  apiculture  plays  an 
important role: in addition to providing honey and other apiculture products, it contributes to 
pollinating  crops,  fruits,  wild  plants,  etc.  There  are  several  tools  available  in  the  Common 
Agriculture  Policy  (CAP)  to  support  the  apiculture  sector,  one  being  the  apiculture 
programmes, set out in Regulation (EU) No 1308/20131 (the CMO).  

According  to  Article  225(a)  of  the  CMO,  the  Commission  shall  present  a  report  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  every  three  years  on  the  implementation  of  the 
measures  concerning the apiculture sector as set  out in Articles 55, 56 and 57, including on 
the  latest  developments  on  beehive  identification  systems.  This  report  is  pursuant  to  that 
provision.  It is not accompanied by a legal proposal.  

This  report  covers  apiculture  years  2017-2019,  corresponding  to  the  time  period  1  August 
2016 to 31 July 2019.  These are the first apiculture years where new measures applied. The 
report  includes  information  received  in  relation  to  previous  apiculture  years,  as  well  as 
programmes planned for apiculture years 2020-2022, notified to the Commission by 15 March 
2019. 

This is the seventh report of the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on 
the  implementation  of  the  apiculture  programmes.  The  report  does  not  include  all  elements 
relevant for beekeeping, but focuses on the implementation of the apiculture programmes. It 
does  however  also  give  a  short  overview  of  the  apiculture  sector  in  the  EU  and  presents  in 
short the Commission proposal for the apiculture sector for the future Common Agricultural 
Policy. 

The  EU  has  been  supporting  directly  the  beekeeping  sector  since  19972,  giving  Member 
States  the  possibility  to  draw  up  national  programmes  for  their  apiculture  sector.  The 
objective of these programmes is to improve general conditions for producing and marketing 
apiculture products: honey, royal jelly, pollen, propolis and beeswax.  

The apiculture programmes are co-financed by the European Union at a 50% rate and last for 
three years. The programmes are voluntary, but all Member States have chosen to introduce 
them, showing the strong interest of Member States and the needs of the sector.  

1 

2  

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common 
organisation of the markets in agricultural products OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p.671. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 1221/97 of 25 June 1997 laying down rules for the application of measures 
to improve the production and marketing of honey, OJ L 173, 1.7.97, p.1. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
2. 

METHODOLOGY 

This report is based on the following sources of information: 

- 

- 

Information  notified  by  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Commission  Delegated 
Regulation  (EU)  2015/1366  with  regard  to  aid  in  the  apiculture  sector3,  including  the 
number of beehives in their territories. 

Information  notified  by  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Commission  Implementing 
Regulation  (EU)  2015/1368  with  regard  to  aid  in  the  apiculture  sector4,  including  the 
annual  implementation  reports,  laid  down  in  Article  10  of  that  regulation.  Those  annual 
reports include a summary of the expenditure incurred in euros during the apiculture year, 
broken  down  by  measure,  and  the  results  based  on  performance  indicators  for  each 
implemented  measure.  These  indicators  are  however  not  harmonized  at  EU-level,  and 
have not been used for drawing conclusions in the context of this report.   

- 

Information  received  from  Member  States  in  accordance  with  Commission  Regulation 
(EC)  No  917/2004  on  actions  in  the  field  of  beekeeping5,  laying  down  the  rules  for  the 
national apiculture programme until apiculture year 2016.  

-  Data on honey production and international trade from Eurostat6, UN Comtrade7 and the 

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)8. 

Detailed  figures  and  summary  tables  on  the  honey  market  and  on  national  apiculture 
programmes are available on the Commission website9. 

OVERVIEW OF THE EU APICULTURE SECTOR 

Production and prices 

3. 

3.1 

Production 

Figures notified in view of the 2020-22 programmes show that there were approximately 17.5 
million  hives  in  the  EU,  managed  by  650  000  beekeepers.  The  number  of  beekeepers  has 
increased  compared  with  the  notification  received  in  2016  for  the  2017-19  programmes.  It 
should however be noted that there is no harmonized method for the definition of beekeepers, 

3 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1366 of 11 May 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 
1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to aid in the apiculture sector, OJ L 211, 
8.8.2015, p. 3–6. 
4 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1368 of 6 August 2015 laying down rules for the application 
of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  with  regard  to  aid  in  the 
apiculture sector, OJ L 211, 8.8.2015, p. 9–16. 
5 Commission Regulation (EC) No 917/2004 of 29 April 2004 on detailed rules to implement Council 
Regulation (EC) No 797/2004 on actions in the field of beekeeping, OJ L 163, 30.4.2004, p. 83–87. 
6  https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat 
7  https://comtrade.un.org/ 
8  http://www.fao.org/home/en/ 
9 https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/animals-and-animal-products/animal-products/honey_en 

3 

 
 
                                                           
nor  for  how  to  estimate  the  number  of  beekeepers,  and  a  change  in  that  number  does  not 
necessarily reflect a general trend in the sector.  

Figure 1: Number of beekeepers 

660.000

650.000

640.000

630.000

624.872 

635.638 

631.236 

 655.333  

620.000

610.000

600.000

590.000

580.000

606.082 

2008-2010 2011-2013 2014-2016 2017-2019 2020-2022

Notified to the Commission in: 2007/2010/2013/2016/2019 

The  sector  produced  280 000  tonnes  of  honey  in  2018,  making  the  EU  the  second  largest 
honey  producer  after  China  (550  000  tonnes10).  The  EU  production  has  increased  by  16% 
since 2014, when it was 240 000 tonnes, but the EU still does not produce enough honey to 
cover its own consumption. In 2018, the rate of self-sufficiency11 was around 60%, which is 
roughly at the same levels as in 2015. The main supplier for imported honey is China (40% of 
imports) followed by Ukraine (20% of imports). 

Figure 2: EU honey production in 2017 and 2018

 EU Production: 275 Thousand Tonnes in 2017 and 281 Thousand Tonnes in 2018  

s
e
n
n
o
T
d
n
a
s
u
o
h
T

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

 30,9 

 29,4  28,7 

 26,0 

 23,0  22,3 

 19,8 

 15,0 

2017
2018

 11,8 

 10,8  10,1 

 8,7 

 7,4 

 6,6 

 5,0 

 4,1  4,0  3,5 

 2,5  2,1  2,0  1,8  1,8  1,7  1,3  0,6  0,3  0,1 

RO ES DE HU IT PL FR EL BG PT CZ MT HR UK AT SK LT SE DK FI LV BE NL SI EE CY IE LU

10  Source: FAO 
11  Self-sufficiency rate = EU production/(production+imports-exports) 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
Prices 

Prices  for  honey  vary  greatly  between  Member  States,  quality  and  point  of  sale.  The  EU 
average price for multi-floral honey at site of production in 2018 was EUR 6.46/kg. In most 
Member States the price is lower when sold in bulk at wholesalers, for which the average EU 
price in 2018 was EUR 3.79/kg. It is noteworthy that while these prices have barely changed 
since  the  previous  received  information  in  2016,  the  average  production  cost  has  increased, 
from  EUR  3.21/kg  in  2015  to  EUR  3.90/kg  in  2018,  possibly  leaving  a  smaller  margin  per 
produced kg of honey. However, as Member States do not report how much of the produced 
honey is sold in bulk and at place of production, no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding 
the resulting profitability for producers.  

Figure 3: Average prices for honey in 2018. MT: average of max/min price 

Site of production 

Bulk at wholesalers 
Production 

g
k
/
R
U
E

25

20

15

10

5

0

IE MT NL UK FI BE LU AT SI DK FR EL CY EE CZ ES SK EU DE HR PL LT SE HU IT LV PT BG RO

3.2 

Trade 

Imports 

The  EU  is  only  60%  self-sufficient  in  honey.  In  2018,  the  EU  imported  208  000  tonnes  of 
honey  with  a  total  value  of  EUR 452  million.  The  EU  is  the  first  world  importer  of  honey, 
with China as its main supplier. However, EU imports from China have decreased from close 
to 100 000 tonnes in 2015 to 80 000 tonnes in 201812. During the same period, imports from 
Ukraine,  the  second  main  supplier,  increased  from  20 000  to  41  000  tonnes,  while  imports 
from the third and fourth suppliers, Argentina and Mexico remained at 25 000 respectively 20 
000 tonnes.  

Honey imported from third countries is usually cheaper than honey produced in the EU, and 
for 2018, the average import price was just above EUR 2/kg.  

12 Source: Eurostat Comext, https://trade.ec.europa.eu/tradehelp/statistics 

5 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
Exports 

EU exports are negligible compared to imports, and in 2018, the EU exported around 21 000 
tonnes of honey, representing in volume around 7% of EU production. The main markets for 
EU  honey  are  Switzerland,  Saudi  Arabia,  the  USA  and  Japan.  In  2018,  the  average  export 
price was EUR 5.7/kg.  

Figure  4:  Average  prices  in  EUR/kg  for  honey  imported  to  (blue,  solid)  and  exported  from 
(red, broken) the EU during 2009-2018. Source: Eurostat Comext 

4. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL APICULTURE PROGRAMMES 

Legal basis 

4.1 
The legal basis for national apiculture programmes as of apiculture  year 2017, starting on 1 
August 2016, are articles 55 to 57 of the CMO, supplemented by: 

-  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/136613, and 
-  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/136814. 

The programmes for apiculture years 2017-2019, and their financing, were approved through 
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1102 of 5 July 201615. 

13 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1366 of 11 May 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 
1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to aid in the apiculture sector, OJ L 211, 
8.8.2015, p. 3–6. 
14  Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2015/1368  of  6  August  2015  laying  down  rules  for  the 
application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to aid 
in the apiculture sector, OJ L 211, 8.8.2015, p. 9–16. 
15 Commission Implementing  Decision (EU) 2016/1102 of 5 July 2016 approving the  national programmes to 
improve the production and marketing of apiculture products submitted by the Member States under Regulation 

6 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
The programmes for apiculture years 2020-2022, and their financing, were approved through 
Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/974 of 12 June 201916. 

Objectives and Measures 

4.2 
The  objective  of  the  programmes  is  to  improve  the  general  conditions  for  producing  and 
marketing apiculture products in the Union. The 2013 CAP reform introduced some changes 
to the programmes. The main objectives of these changes were to adapt eligible measures to 
the needs of the sector, and to ensure a sounder allocation of the EU budget by improving the 
methods used by the Member States to determine the number of beehives on their territories. 
The resulting eligible measures are further described below. 

(a) technical assistance to beekeepers and beekeepers' organisations: the wording of this 
measure  changed  from  “groupings  of  beekeepers”  to  “beekeepers´  organisations”.  While 
many  Member  States  include  training,  organisation  of  courses  and  printing  of  educational 
brochures under this measure, it may include a wide variety of actions. These include support 
to  e.g.  purchase  of  technical  equipment  for  the  primary  processing  and  specific  support  to 
young beekeepers.  

(b)  combating  beehive  invaders  and  diseases,  particularly  varroasis:  the  scope  of  this 
measure has been extended from controlling varroasis to combat other beehives invaders and 
diseases, which may include e.g. Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) or Small Hive Beetle (Aethina 
tumida). However, most of the programmes that include this measure continue to focus on the 
control  of  varroasis.  This  is  often  achieved  through  supporting  methods  to  decrease  the 
parasitic  load,  but  actions  also  include  measures  aiming  at  informing  beekeepers  on  the 
importance of combating the varroa mite.  

(c)  rationalisation  of  transhumance;  this  action  intends  to  assist  with  managing  the 
movement  of beehives in the Union and with  providing locations  for beekeepers during the 
flowering  season.  Transhumance  management  can  be  facilitated  by  measures  such  as 
identification  of  beehives  and  frames,  a  transhumance  register,  investment  in  material 
facilitating transhumance and mapping of flower varieties.  

(d) measures to support laboratories for the analysis of apiculture products with the aim 
of  helping  beekeepers  to  market  and  increase  the  value  of  their  products;  the  scope  of 
this measure has been extended from supporting analyses of the physico-chemical properties 
of  honey,  to  include  other  apiculture  products17  such  as  royal  jelly,  pollen,  propolis  or 
beeswax.  Furthermore,  the  CMO  added  that  the  measure  should  help  beekeepers  to  market 
and increase the value of their products. The measure can be used for financing the testing of 

(EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document C(2016) 4133), OJ 
L 182, 7.7.2016, p. 55–57  
16 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/974 of 12 June 2019 approving the national programmes to 
improve the production and marketing of apiculture products submitted by the Member States under Regulation 
(EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document C(2019) 4177), OJ 
L 157, 14.6.2019, p. 28–30. 
17 Apiculture products covered by the apiculture programmes are listed in Part XXII of Annex I to Regulation 
(EU) No 1308/2013 and are honey, royal jelly, propolis and beeswax. 

7 

 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                     
e.g. the botanical origin of honey, as the precise knowledge of this may enable beekeepers to 
receive a higher price for their product.  

(e) restocking of beehives makes it possible to compensate partially for losses of bees, and 
therefore  avoid  drops  of  production;  this  can  include  funding  activities  to  promote  queens' 
production, purchasing of bee colonies or buying new hives. 

(f)  cooperation  with  specialised  bodies  for  the  implementation  of  applied  research 
programmes in the field of beekeeping and apiculture products; this measure provides a 
possibility for Member  States to  support specific research projects.  These may be aiming at 
improving  the quality of honey, and/or disseminate the results of such projects.   

(g) market monitoring; new measure which allows for the possibility to invest in monitoring 
apiculture  products  and  prices.  It  can  improve  the  conditions  of  production  and  supports 
national strategies for monitoring the market situation.  

(h) enhancement of product quality with a view to exploiting the potential of products on 
the market; new measure introduced by the CMO which may be used for example to exploit 
the market potential of honey, but also of other apiculture products. 

4.3 
rate 

Union  Budget  for  national  apiculture  programmes  and  usage 

Union  funds  dedicated  to  the  apiculture  sector  are  relatively  small  but  increased  from  EUR 
36 million per year for the 2017-2019 apiculture programmes to EUR 40 million per year for 
the 2020-2022 apiculture programmes. 

The  Union  contribution  to  apiculture  programmes  corresponds  to  50%  of  the  expenditure 
borne by the Member States. In concrete terms, it means that for the 2017 and 2018 apiculture 
years,  EUR  72  million  in  total  were  available  for  the  apiculture  programmes  each  year. 
Although the funding was not fully utilised, the usage rate is high. For comparison, apiculture 
year 2016 is included in the table below. 

Table 1: Union funding and usage rate for apiculture programmes 

Union funds 
available per 
apiculture year 

in EUR 
Amount of Union 
funds used by 
Member States in 
EUR 

2016 
apiculture 
year 
2014-2016 
programmes 
33 100 000 
31 102 215 

2017 
apiculture 
year 
2017-2019 
programmes 
36 000 000 
32 372 777 

2018 
apiculture 
year 
2017-2019 
programmes 
36 000 000 
33 974 000  Will be 

2019 
apiculture 
year 
2017-2019 
programmes 
36 000 000 

notified by 
15 March 
2020 

2020-2022 
apiculture 
years 

40 000 000 
Will be 
notified as 
of 15 
March 
2021 

Usage rate 

94%  

90% 

94% 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
Allocation of the Union contribution per Member State 
4.4 
The rules for allocating the Union contribution to the apiculture programmes are laid down in 
Article  4  of  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  (EU)  2015/1366.  The  main  factor  for  this 
allocation is the proportion of beehives in each Member State participating to the programme. 
This is one reason for the rules on the mandatory determination and notification by Member 
States of the number of beehives to the Commission, further described under heading 5 of this 
report.  

The  minimum  Union  contribution  is  EUR  25 000  per  apiculture  programme.  Remaining 
Union  funding  is  allocated  depending  on  the  proportion  of  beehives  notified  by  Member 
States. However, if a Member States requests less than it would be entitled to on the basis of 
its proportion of beehives, remaining Union funding may be distributed to Member States that 
have requested more than their theoretical share of the funding.  

In accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1368, the allocation of Union funds 
for the 2017-2019 apiculture programmes was made on the basis of the number of beehives 
communicated by Member States in 2013. For the 2020-2022 apiculture programmes, which 
were notified to the Commission in 2019, the allocation was based on the number of beehives 
notified in 2017 and 2018 (two calendar years immediately preceding the year of notification 
to the Commission of the national apiculture programmes). 

Figure  5:  Allocation  of  the  Union  contribution  per  Member  State  for  the  2020-2022 
apiculture years 

5
3
6
.
5

9
4
2
.
5

6.000

5.000

4.000

3.000

2.000

1.000

0

s
o
r
u
E
d
n
a
s
u
o
h
T

Budget Allocated by Member State for 2020 

8
3
9
.
3

5
4
5
.
3

4
5
4
.
3

6
3
2
.
3

0
2
1
.
3

0
5
7
.
1

7
5
6
.
1

6
3
6
.
1

6
6
2
.
1

1
0
0
.
1

0
8
8

5
3
7

9
5
5

7
8
4

0
8
3

1
3
3

8
0
2

0
9
1

5
7
1

0
6
1

1
4
1

0
0
1

0
0
1

5
4

5
1

8

ES RO PL IT FR EL HU PT DE BG CZ HR AT SK UK LT SI SE LV NL DK BE FI EE CY IE LU MT

Source: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/974 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expenditure incurred per type of measures 

4.5 
In  accordance  with  Article  10  of  Regulation  2015/1368,  Member  States  shall  notify  by 
15 March  each  year  an  annual  implementation  report  for  the  previous  apiculture  year.  The 
first  two  annual  reports,  corresponding  to  the  apicultural  years  201718  and  201819,  were 
notified in 2018 and 2019. The breakdown of expenditure per type of measure for apiculture 
year  2018  is  shown  in  the  pie  chart  below  (figure  6).  For  historical  comparison,  also  the 
expenditure per type of measure for the apiculture year 2015 is included  (figure 7), showing 
that  even  though  at  that  point  the  programmes  could  only  contain  six  measures,  the  overall 
distribution, measured in percentage, remain similar.   

In 2018, as in previous years, the two measures technical assistance and combating beehive 
invaders receive most of the available funding, or close to 60% combined. This reflects the 
continuous need for the sector to invest in beekeeping equipment, update beekeeping practices 
in  order  to  fight  against  diseases  and  beehives'  invaders,  and  to  provide  training  for 
beekeepers.  

Also  as  in  previous  years,  the  two  measures  restocking  of beehives  and  rationalisation  of 
transhumance rank as the third and fourth most popular measures, accounting for more than 
30% combined. In several Member States, transhumance is an essential beekeeping practice, 
necessary to cover the nutritional needs of honeybees during the whole beekeeping season and 
to provide pollination services.  

Applied research and analysis of honey remained at the 5th and 6th place, receiving 3.48% 
respectively 2.45% of the available funding in 2018. 

The two new measures, product improvement (0,69% of the total expenditure) and market 
monitoring together received less than 1% of the funding.  

Figure 6: Expenditure in percentage per measure during apiculture year 2018 

Expenditures by measure for 2018 

D - Analyses of 
Apiculture 
Products 
2,45% 

E - Restocking of 
Hives 
17,37% 

F - Applied 
Research 
3,48% 

G - Market 
Monitoring 
0,12% 

H - Product 
Improvement 
0,69% 

A - Technical 
Assistance 
31,12% 

C - 
Rationalisation 
of 
Transhumance 
16,14% 

B - Combatting 
Beehive 
Invaders 
28,63% 

18 Time period 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017 
19 Time period 1 August 2017 to 31 July 2018 

10 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 7: Expenditure in percentage per measure during apiculture year 2015 

Expenditures by measure for 2015 

D - Analyses of 
Honey 
2,67% 

E - Restocking of 
Hives 
14,57% 

F - Applied 
Research 
4,99% 

A - Technical 
Assistance 
28,50% 

C - 
Rationalisation 
of 
Transhumance 
19,57% 

B - Varroasis 
Prevention 
29,71% 

5. 

METHODS TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF BEEHIVES  

As described under heading 4.2 of this  report, changes were introduced to ensure a sounder 
allocation  of  the  EU  budget  by  improving  the  methods  used  by  the  Member  States  to 
determine the number of beehives on their territories. In accordance with the empowerment of 
Article 56(1)(b) of the CMO, the Commission adopted a delegated act laying down the basis 
for  the  allocation  of  the  Union´s  financial  contribution  to  the  Member  States´  apiculture 
programmes, based on the number of beehives20. That delegated act introduced the definition 
of a beehive as “… the unit containing a honeybee colony used for the production of honey, 
other apiculture products or honeybee breeding material, and all the elements necessary for 
its survival”. Furthermore, that act laid down the obligation for Member States submitting a 
national apiculture programme to have a reliable method to determine, between 1 September 
and 31 December each year, the number of beehives ready for wintering in their territory.  

Given that there was no harmonized rule in relation to the matters described above before the 
application  of  that  delegated  act,  the  numbers  of  beehives  notified  before  its  application  in 
2017,  should  not  be  directly  compared  with  the  number  of  beehives  notified  as  of 
March 2017.    Nevertheless,  the  long-term  historical  trend  indicates  that  the  number  of 
beehives in the European Union has increased over the last decade. This positive trend can be 
seen in almost all the Member States. 

20 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1366 

11 

 
 
 
                                                           
Figure 8: Evolution of the number of beehives in the EU in thousands  

According to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1368, Member States shall 
include in their national apiculture programmes a description of the method used to determine 
the number of beehives in their territories.  

A  total  of  17  Member  States  are  using  mandatory  methods  for  counting  beehives  including 
the  Member  States  with  the  highest  number  of  hives,  such  as  ES,  RO,  IT,  FR  and  EL.  The 
mandatory methods may include the obligatory registration of beekeepers and/or beehives in a 
specific  register,  set  up  for  that  specific  purpose,  or  the  use  of  data  from  other  mandatory 
registers such as veterinary information systems.  

A  total  of  11  Member  States  are  instead  using  other  methods  than  mandatory  registration. 
These  include  Member  States  with  fewer  beehives,  such  as  SE,  DK,  IE  and  EE.  These 
Member  States  may  rely  on  information  received  from  beekeepers´  organisations,  surveys, 
censuses, or a combination of these methods.  

In general, the mandatory registration of beehives is considered the most robust method but 
creates an administrative burden for beekeepers and Member States:  beekeepers are obliged 
by  national  law  to  register  their  activity  and  declare  their  number  of  beehives  to  an 
administration.  

The reliability of other methods for estimating the number of beehives depends on the quality 
of the database kept by beekeeping organisations and on the representativeness of the sample 
of beekeepers selected to provide information on their number of beehives. 

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6. 

APICULTURE IN THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY BEYOND 2020  

In  its  proposal  for  a  CAP  beyond  202021,  the  Commission  proposes  to  move  the  apiculture 
programmes  from  the  Common  Market  Organisation  Regulation  to  the  CAP  Strategic  Plan 
Regulation22.  This  will  increase  the  visibility  of  the  apiculture  sector  and  ensure  that  its 
contribution  to  the  overall  objectives  of  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  is  taken  into 
account. 

The proposal also includes an increase of the funding of the apiculture programmes, to EUR 
60 million per year. This means that over the 7-year period of the future CAP, Union funding 
together with the Member States´ contributions, a total of EUR 840 million is available for the 
sector. A further change introduced by the proposal is that the annual funding to the Member 
States apicultural programmes is laid down in the basic act23.  

It continues to be necessary to know the number of beehives in Member States to be able to 
follow  the  trend,  to  evaluate  the  impact  of  support  measures  to  the  apiculture  sector  and  to 
keep European citizens informed. Therefore, the Commission proposal includes the continued 
obligation  for  Member  States  to  count  the  number  of  beehives  and  notify  the  result  to  the 
Commission.   

While the apiculture programmes were voluntary under the CMO, the Commission proposes 
that they become mandatory in the Member States’ CAP strategic plans. 

7. 

CONCLUSION 

Although  the  apiculture  programmes  have  remained  voluntary  under  the  CMO,  all  Member 
States  continue to introduce the programmes, developed in  cooperation with  the sector. The 
programmes vary between Member States, depending on the needs of that particular Member 
State,  but  the  measures  receiving  most  of  the  support  -  technical  assistance  and  combating 
beehive invaders – have remained unchanged since the last report in 2016. 

The funding to  the sector  has  continued to  increase over the last programming periods,  and 
the uptake of the funding remains high, showing the relevance of the chosen measures. 

The number of beehives is one indicator of the impact of the support measure and this number 
continues to increase. However, looking at the overall profitability of the sector, EU average 
prices have not increased, while production costs are increasing and import prices decreasing. 
This  poses  challenges  for  the  sector  and  indicates  a  continued  need  for  support,  also 
considering the important role of bees for the environment and agriculture. 

21 https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/future-cap_en 
22 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2018%3A392%3AFIN 
23 Annex VIII of the Commission proposal for CAP beyond 2020. 

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